DEILA DEFIANT OVER GAFFES
RONNY DEILA has always argued that refereeing mistakes will benefit and punish each club over the course of a season. Don’t try to tell him, however, that the incorrect decision which saw Leigh Griffiths tuck away a penalty yesterday somehow made up for the failure to spot Josh Meekings’ now infamous hand-ball at Hampden seven days previously. Griffiths sealed a 3-0 victory over Dundee United — and a hat-trick — by netting from 12 yards after Willie Collum had wrongly deemed a John Rankin foul on Gary Mackay-Steven to be inside the area. Another refereeing error appeared to be the last thing Deila wanted to discuss. And he insisted the final goal in an ultimately comfortable win could hardly compare to a pivotal moment in their bid for a Treble. ‘It was not easy for me to see the penalty incident but if it was wrong, I don’t think it affected the game in any way,’ he said. ‘We deserved to win and I was pleased with the performance in the second half. ‘If we were only leading 1-0, I would understand it could be an issue. But not when it was the third goal. ‘I agree these things even themselves out over a season. But what happened at Hampden last Sunday was not a normal thing. ‘I very rarely talk about decisions but last Sunday’s really, really affected the game. We had full control and were 1-0 up. We also had goal-line refs, so you can’t say it was the same as what happened today, whether it was wrong or right. ‘The Cup is also just one game. Over 38 games, the best team will win in the end.’ The Norwegian lauded the impact made by Griffiths as he hoisted his season’s tally to 18 goals — and shifted Celtic eight points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Premiership. Deila also said he would have no fears if the striker was to spearhead his continental bid next season. ‘Since I came in, there have been a lot of changes,’ he added. ‘We have started to get to know each other better. He knows what I expect in that role and I know what he can contribute as well. ‘That is making him safer on the pitch. He knows his tasks and now he gets consistency in playing time. ‘He gets confidence and you can see how good he can be. As a finisher, he is very, very good and works very hard for the team as well. ‘I’m not afraid of going into the European qualifiers with Leigh as my No 1 striker. He is showing he can score goals. If he continues working hard, he will score in Europe, too.’ Neither Rankin nor Jackie McNamara wished to make much of an issue over the spot-kick award, although the United manager pointed out that it could yet have an impact on their bid to catch fourth-placed St Johnstone. ‘It still matters because it’s a goal against us,’ he said. ‘We are now down to plus two rather than three, so these things are important. ‘It was a mistake but, as we have seen, it happens and it’s the same as players. It was a mistake which led to the first goal. I’m not going down the road of writing letters. I have enough to worry about without writing to people!’ Rankin added: ‘That decision isn’t what cost us the game. Referees are only human, so I have no grievance with him. ‘It happened so quickly and he’s only got a couple of seconds to make the decision. It was 2-0 at the time, so we’re not going to complain. ‘It just proves every team gets decisions for them and against them. ‘We saw it last weekend and again this weekend so, until they bring video evidence in and give the refs a chance, then it will just be one of those things.’